The virtual tour I chose to take was of the historical Ellis Island where more than 12 million people made their first steps into America between 1892 and 1954. At first, I considered switching to another tour since Ellis Island is something that I have learned about before. In starting the tour though, I realized what a different perspective I was learning about it from. This tour takes you step by step through the arrival process of an immigrant arriving at Ellis Island, starting at the boat and ending at the “Kissing Post” where family and friends waited for their loved ones. In between these immigrants went through an extensive process, doctors would board their ship and do an initial health inspection to look for any signs of disease. Sometimes this process took days. After they entered Ellis Island and registered, they had to go through legal inspections which consisted of 29 questions they would ask each person. If their answers differed from the answers they originally provided they could be detained. Next, they went through a medical exam, again, if they failed, they could be detained. Legal detainees would have their cases go to trial anywhere from a few days to a month. Medical detainees would be treated at the island’s hospital or kept in quarantine for days to months. Their medical records would then be reviewed by a Board of Special Injuries and the board would determine whether they would be allowed into the US or sent back to their home country. Taking this virtual tour through the immigration steps helped me to learn much more about what many of our family members and ancestors went through to become American citizens.

Take take the tour yourself, click this Link.

Ensure Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Promote Lifelong Learning Opportunities For All

What is a Sustainable Development Goal?

The Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”. The SDGs were set up in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030.

Education has been a main focus for many years, but now more than ever it needs help! As we continue to endure the COVID-19 pandemic, the progress made to improve the educational system is reversing and students are falling more and more behind.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schooling is a “generational catastrophe”. Before the pandemic, progress was already slow and insufficient to achieve the education targets in the Goals. School closures caused by the pandemic have had devastating consequences for children’s learning and well-being. Hundreds of millions of children and young people are falling behind in their learning, which will have long-term impacts. One year into the COVID-19 crisis, two thirds of students worldwide are still affected by full or partial school closures. The most vulnerable children and those unable to access remote learning are at increased risk of never returning to school and of being forced into child marriage or child labour.

It is estimated that 101 million additional children and young people (from grades 1 to 8) fell below the minimum reading proficiency level in 2020 owing to the consequences of the pandemic, which wiped out the education gains achieved over the past 20 years. Reading proficiency levels could recover by 2024, but only if exceptional efforts are devoted to the task through remedial and catch-up strategies.

Just before the pandemic, 53 per cent of young people were completing secondary school globally, although the figure for sub-Saharan Africa was only 29 per cent. The rise in school completion rates may slow or even reverse depending on the duration of school closures, which are resulting in learning losses and affecting the motivation to attend school, and on the extent to which poverty might increase, adding to the obstacles faced by disadvantaged children.

Data from before the pandemic for 76 mostly low- and middle-income countries and territories covering the period 2012–2020 indicate that 7 in 10 children who are 3 and 4 years of age are on track developmentally, with no significant differences between the sexes. However, many young children are unable to attend early education because of the pandemic and so are now entirely reliant on their caregivers for nurturing care. Unsafe conditions, negative interactions with caregivers and a lack of educational opportunities during the early years can lead to irreversible outcomes, affecting children’s potential for the remainder of their lives.

The 7 Key Targets of Goal 4

Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.

Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.

Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.

Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.

Target 4.5: By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.

Target 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.

Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.

The well known channel and magazine, National Geographic, has released an innovative educational tool which allows classrooms to connect with real life explorers, scientists, researchers, and storytellers from all over the globe. This tool is called “Explorer Classroom”.

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/tickets/explorer-classroom/

This interactive program is completely free! Which is hard to come by in today’s world and should absolutely be taken advantage of! Explorer Classroom included an events schedule on their home page which states that they host events for ages 4-8 on Mondays at 11am, and events for ages 9-14 on Thursdays at 10am & 2pm. During these events, students can interact live with the hosts, asking questions, etc.

Did you miss an event? Or class schedule just does not work with their event times? Great news! Right on the Explorer Classroom homepage is a tab to be able to watch past events! Again, completely open and free to the public!

In this video, viewers join ocean explorers, Asha de Vos and Erin Spencer aboard the OceanXplorer–the most advanced ocean exploration vessel ever built. We are able to watch and listen to not only the hosts of the video but also see how viewers are able to actively ask questions and interact with the explorers.

Explorer Classroom is an amazing educational tool, the content is super interesting, and promotes student curiosity and questions! Did I mention it is a FREE resource?! This is definitely something that I would love to use in my future classroom, it seems so easy to use and very beneficial!

In this article, we learn about the process of how schools choose what technology is worth having in the classroom. Today, this is more relevant than ever. With the last year of COVID-19 and the switch to virtual learning, teachers and students were exposed to many new educational technologies. Unfortunately, under the circumstances, there was not much time able to be put into discussing what to use. This year however, with in person classes resuming, teachers are able to intentionally choose what technologies they would like to use in their classrooms. There are many factors that go into making these decisions for a school district, some of which are discussed below.

What is Educational Technology?

Educational technology is any technological tools and/or media that are used to facilitate in the teaching process.

Some examples include:

• learning games and stimulants
• educational videos
• live streaming
• tablets / computers
• 3D printing
• and MANY MORE!

How Schools Decide the Best Technology for their District

• This process begins by considering the desired outcome, which comes from the objectives of both the district and the educators.
• Ed tech leaders, teachers, and librarians discuss their technology needs.
• These conversations then make their way up to Administration.
• Decisions are made about which technology best fits the objectives and outcomes of the district and educators.

“Districts will be able to find the right technology when the decision-makers and end users mutually understand the goals and learning objectives. “

(Rebecca Torchia Twitter Rebecca Torchia is a web editor for EdTech: Focus on K–12. Previously How to choose K–12 educational technology intentionally)

What Can Make These Decisions Difficult

• When decision makers and educators are not on the same page, or when administration does not understand how the technology will be implemented in the classroom.
• COST! School districts have budgets they need to stick to, sometimes the associated costs, such as professional development that may be needed fr the new technology, can put these items over budget.